How to record cell phone calls on computer

So you want to learn how to record cell phone calls on a computer! You’re not alone. I did some search on the web and there are lots of people looking for that same answer.

The simple and free method is the speakerphone method, where just use your cell phone’s speakerphone setting and place a sound recording device next to the speaker. It’s the easiest way to record a cell phone conversation and will probably cost you nothing. Of course, the recording quality of this method is terrible. You’ll get a lot of noise from your surrounding. So let’s look into better options.

James Geeo a few months back asked the question “How can I record cell phone conversations?” on Engadget’s website. He wanted to record calls into his Sprint phone and was having a hard time finding hardware options to do so. One of the answers he got required him to use a mixing table. That tells you that a simple question may not have a simple answer…

Record cell phone calls on computer

You need a special audio adapter to let you record a cell phone call into a computer. The device is called the RECAP. What RECAP does is to intercept the audio signals seen at the headset and convert them to the level that a PC or Voice Recorder can detect the sound. In essence, RECAP works like a signal splitter. Of course, it just not simply split the wires – that wouldn’t work. Instead, RECAP has the circuitry to adjust the signals to correct levels.

Technical details aside, below is a quick snapshot showing how to connect up this handy audio adapter.

As seen in the picture, the connection is pretty straightforward: you plug in your headset into RECAP, then plug it in the phone’s audio jack. Then attached the connection cord from RECAP output to the PC MIC port.

If you don’t want to you the PC, you can also use it with a Voice Recorder and MAC, as long as those devices have a stereo MIC input port.

No special app required on the phone. Actually, that is one big advantage of this adapter. No need to pay for 3 way call apps which require subscription plans. RECAP is hardware and you own it outright!

In your computer should run the software to record the call. Windows ships with Sound Recorder or you can download a more powerful audio software such as Audacity. Best of it all, Audacity is free.